The Public Understanding of Law Survey (PULS) Volume 2: Understanding and Capability
Explore the knowledge, skills and attributes that are required to effectively understand and use the law.
The findings in this volume build on those reported in Volume 1. This world-first report on legal capability provides a starting point to better understand what is needed for people to achieve fair outcomes for issues in our lives which might have a legal solution, what are known as justiciable problems.
In this volume, we introduce the concept of legal capability and report on levels of -
- understanding of rights and responsibilities
- confidence in being able to get fair resolution of justiciable problems
- practical legal literacy relating to the ability to obtain, understand and navigate information and services needed to deal with everyday justiciable problems
- perceptions of the relevance of law and how people see it in their everyday lives
- perceptions of the accessibility of lawyers
- trust in lawyers
- digital capability for legal type tasks.
The PULS is the most significant effort to quantify legal capability to date and provides unprecedented insight into levels and patterns in Victoria, and importantly the relationships between the various aspects of legal capability. The relationships and dependencies will be further explored in Volume 3 of the PULS.
The data show variable levels of legal capability, unequal distribution of elements of it, and clear links to disadvantage. The findings put inequality of capability alongside inequality of legal need and problem experience as set out in Volume 1, adding another layer of inequality in access to justice.
This report will help build a better understanding of legal capability in the community, and where policy and practice can be tailored to meet the strengths and deficits in the community. The findings, together with Volumes 1 and 3 of the PULS will help reshape and optimise limited resources services, and ultimately democratise justice.
Key findings
Implications and way forward
Explore the knowledge, skills and attributes that are required to effectively understand and use the law.
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Explore the knowledge, skills and attributes that are required to effectively understand and use the law.
Publication resources
Discover how people understand and engage with the law
The Public Understanding of Law Survey (PULS) is ground-breaking research to understand legal capability, attitudes, and experience of the law in Victoria.
Related publications
Targeted and tailored engagement is necessary to increase awareness of young people's everyday justiciable problems and available legal help.
For young people, links between employment problems and mental health are particularly strong, with psychological distress a common consequence.
Psychological distress and mental illness have been shown to be among the factors most powerfully associated with problems arising in people’s lives that raise legal issues.
Single parents have been identified as being particularly vulnerable to experiencing multiple substantial legal problems.
Dr McDonald’s paper considers the question of just how much “legal” understanding or help different people require to enjoy access to justice, and just what type of research evidence we need to know.
The full PULS questionnaire along with commentary on the questions.
How People see the Law, Lawyers and Courts in Australia.
Explore how justiciable problems are experienced, what people do about them, and how they progress and conclude (if they conclude).
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Understand better justice
Data and empirical evidence to help understand access to justice and build a better justice system.